Florida Keys

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If you are thinking of a warm weather destination this coming winter that will offer you activities and peace and quite, I have a great suggestion. Try the Florida Keys.
In June, we had the opportunity to fly to Florida to visit our son in Del Ray Beach. By the way, Del Ray Beach is a fun beach destination all by itself. I will write about it later. The Keys were our main travel destination so after one night in Del Ray we headed south.
Our first stop was the Marathon area which was about a 2.5 hour drive. Be aware of road construction because once on the keys, the main road is 2 lanes so construction can really slow you down.
In Marathon, we stayed at a condo community, right on the water-Coral Lagoon Marina. The property was very low key and very well kept. The condo was 2 stories, very large and in superior condition. This would be a great place to stay if you are into boating. While the property has a nice pool, there really isn't much else there. I would recommend Tranquility Bay, a sister property, if you are looking for a more traditional beach resort community. Both properties are high end, but we went in the off season and had a very reasonable rate.
Marathon has 3 main things to offer, diving, fishing and drinking. You will be hard pressed to find hordes of people, places and things like in Key West.
I didn't find the restaurant offerings to be like those you'll find in a big city or in a major resort area. The dining is casual, very reasonably priced and adequate. Try Sparky's Landing for dinner. They offer a great view and are located near the bridge.
If you are into diving, this is one of the top dive spots in Florida. There is a dive park not too far off shore offering much to see in about 20 feet of water. I am not a diver, so my son and I snorkeled for 3 hours in this park. There are plenty of dive shops to choose from.
Our last full day, we drove down to Key West. It took about an hour and was a pleasant drive through many keys where we saw beautiful scenery.
Once in Key West we walked up one side of Duval St. and down the other. Duval St. is famous for shops, restaurants, bars, B&Bs, hotels and the Butterfly Museum (a must see). The street was jammed with people, mostly families. As night approached, the families slowly disappeared and young people came out to the bars (of which there are many). Key West knows how to party.
I can't specifically recommend a place to stay, but I noticed what appeared to be 2 or 3 excellent B&Bs right on Duval St.
As for dinner, we had a very delicious dinner at Hot Tin Roof, located on the Ocean Reef Hotel property. We dined in air conditioning on a verandah that allowed us to watch the sunset. The food and scenery were superior.
We flew in and out of Florida on Southwest from Albany, NY and found the service good. We used Ft. Lauderdale airport as our landing point where we rented a car. To get to this area, it is convenient to use West Palm Beach and Miami airports also.
If you want to stay in Del Ray, there is a very unusual hotel which I really liked, called Sundy House. It won't appeal to everyone. Plus it is located very near the main restaurant district. Del Ray seems to be a moderate to upscale destination.

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Photos

Sunset
View from table at Hot Tin Roof Restaurant